Confused Newbie! Little help on class selection!

Hi folks! I'm a complete newbie in regards to Guildwars, and thought I'd solicit some advice. I've got an end-game account in EQ, and also a level 60 in WoW, so I'm not a complete stranger to MMORPGs--so I understand how complex these things can get! I don't want to try to research each and every class/combination out there before playing around some, so I'm really hoping you guys can help me narrow it down.

Basically, my question is this: What class and profession combination is best suited to soloing, and yet will still be desireable in guilds or raids at a later date if I choose to invest the time?

I'm a little limited in my time due to running raids for my EQ guild, so I want to be able to log in and just solo to relax. If I really enjoy things (it's a great looking game!), then I may start playing more, so I'd like to have the option to be useful to a good guild.

Thanks so much to those of you who reply and help me narrow my research!

Chutoi

The most common is probablly the wammo

Bear in mind that only your character's primary profession is set in stone. There are NPCs in each campaign that allow you to swap your secondary for a new one, as many times as desired. That should go a long way in narrowing your research tasks.

That being said, most of the farmers out there are warriors or monks. There's been a considerable shakeup in soloability (if that is indeed a word) since the release of Nightfall due to the altered monster AI, but they're still probably your best bet. One word of caution, though...don't limit yourself to a particular profession simply because it's good at raking in the loot. GW is a game, after all; I encourage you to try a variety of play styles.

Yes i agree with knightsaber the warrior is good at soloing.

Agreed, Warrior is a good starting class that has diversity and helps you to move through the game at a nice pace. I would also suggest Ranger as another class for beginers, I use a few solo build with Ranger that is still very effective in GW PvE. Another suggestion, if you are interested in solo, is to check both guildwarsguru.com and guildwarswiki.com for solo build lists so you can get a good understnding of how they work. That may also help you in your choice.

Get Nightfall with heroes! Now you don't need to worry about what class to play, as any of them can solo!

Also, if you ever decide to play in competitive PvP, you'll need at least the PvP unlock editions for the campaigns you don't own.

Just a thought, but if you're coming to Guild Wars looking for WoW style raids, you're not going to find them. The closest thing Guild Wars has to WoW's raids is the Guild vs Guild PvP.

On the profession question, I agree with the Warrior being a good primary class for soloing with the Monk being a good secondary class. You can also play around with the classes in the newbie areas to see which one fits your playstyle the best.

It really doesn't matter what you pick, some classes are easier, some harder, some boring, some fun etc etc. But you have at least 4 character slots there, it is easy to reach 20 and you can delete what you don't like. Guilds tend to accept those skilled, not by profession (only takes a few mins to make a PvP char of any prof).

Also bear in mind that is game is not designed for going solo. There's many ways to get around that; but going solo takes a huge amount of fun out of the game, and is particularly difficult because solo builds require knowledge of how skills and monsters act, specific sets of costly items and armor; and is especially difficult if you're just starting.

The "pre-searing" part of the game makes it look like you can solo your way through; but the "pre-searing" stage of the game is filled with low-level monsters with extremely simple skills. As soon as you leave that part of the game, everything gets tougher.

I think it's worth pointing out that the OP's use of the term "soloing" may be different from the standard GW definition.

GW definition: To be the only character entering the conflict zone.

Possible OP definition: Being the only human entering the conflict zone.


If the idea is to do the GW std soloing, be warned that it is considered a very advanced technique, and requires a near perfect understanding of game mechanics, skills, and possible opposition. Even then, each class and/or build tends to limit themselves to only certain areas. This form of soloing is typically designed to farm an area for various items.


If the idea is to be the only human, then OP should know that there are various options for AI controlled party members. In all campaigns, there are "henchmen" available of various classes. A non-idiot human player of similiar class will always outperform a henchie, but the henchies are always there, are infinitely patient, and won't drop you in the middle of a mission for being a st00p1d n00b.

The other, newer option is a Nightfalls addition, called Heroes. They are a lot like henchmen, but you get to set their equipment and skill bar, as well as better control their actions though various commands.

If you take henchies and/or heroes, then you can play any class you feel like, and be able to finish any of the campaigns that way. So play whatever you like.